Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Castbox

PigeonPod is a self-hosted service that turns YouTube channels and playlists into podcast-style RSS feeds you can subscribe to in any podcast app. It can automatically sync new uploads, download media to your server, and provide a web UI for managing feeds and playback.

Key Features

• Convert YouTube channels or playlists into standard RSS feeds
• API-key-protected RSS links for private subscriptions
• Background sync of new uploads with optional history backfill
• Per-feed filters (include/exclude keywords, minimum duration) and retention limits
• Audio-only or full video downloads with quality/encoding options
• Download queue dashboard with task status, logs, and bulk actions (retry/cancel/delete)
• Built-in web UI for browsing and playing downloaded episodes
• Optional YouTube Data API key and cookie support for restricted content
• Multilingual, responsive interface

Use Cases

• Subscribe to YouTube content in a podcast player while commuting
• Maintain a private, server-hosted archive of selected channels or playlists
• Create filtered feeds for long-form videos (talks, lectures, interviews)

Limitations and Considerations

• Downloading and syncing depend on external tools and YouTube behavior (for example, yt-dlp) and may require updates when YouTube changes
• Storage usage can grow quickly when downloading video; retention limits should be configured

PigeonPod is a practical solution for users who prefer podcast workflows for YouTube content while keeping feeds private and under their own control. It combines feed generation, syncing, and download management in a single web interface.

Podfetch is a web application for managing, downloading, and listening to podcasts. It provides RSS feed ingestion, episode downloading, and in-browser playback, implemented with a Rust backend and a React + TypeScript frontend.

Key Features

• Web UI built with React and TypeScript for browsing and playing episodes
• Rust backend providing feed ingestion, episode management, and download handling
• RSS feed subscription and parsing with support for common podcast feed features
• Episode download manager for local storage and offline listening
• GPodder-compatible integration to import/export subscriptions and interoperate with existing podcast clients
• Official Docker image builds produced via CI for easy containerized deployment
• Docker Compose support and CI-driven image updates to simplify upgrades

Use Cases

• Maintain a personal podcast library on a home server and listen via browser
• Download and queue episodes for offline listening and bandwidth management
• Migrate or sync subscriptions with other podcast clients using GPodder compatibility

Podfetch is focused on providing a lightweight, container-friendly podcast management experience with a performant Rust backend and a modern frontend. It is suited for users who want a simple, self-hosted podcast downloader with compatibility for existing podcast toolchains.